South China Sea News & Discussions, incl Spratly Islands News

This is a discussion on South China Sea News & Discussions, incl Spratly Islands News within the Geo-strategic Issues forum, part of the Global Defense & Military category; I hope this one does not get close like the other one I started before, please try to keep everything ...

I hope this one does not get close like the other one I started before, please try to keep everything that's only related to the subject of discussions here to avoid nonsense response from other members...Please delete this thread if there are plans to re-open the original one, Thanks!

Taiwan's news agency reported on tuesday that the nation plans to start a solar power project on it's main Spratly claimed island which is the largest one on the entire chain of group of islands and reefs, officials arrived on tuesday aboard a 2,000 ton CGA vessel to attend the grounbreaking ceremony on Taiping island...

Taiwan's president is scheduled to visit Taiping island, the largest one on the group of island and shoals that are in disputes with other claimant nations in the disputed areas of the South China Sea, a spokeman for the leader denied the news report...

A recent oil deal between China and the Philippines will destroy the Spratlys from the environmentalist view point, the joint cooperation was part of the multiple agreements that was signed during the recent state visit of President Aquino last week...

New Delhi has recently rebuffed Beijings objection to a plan oil and natural gas exploration by India's ONGC Videsh Ltd. at block 127 & 128 which it says has no legal basis as the blocks belongs to Vietnam...

New Delhi has recently rebuffed Beijings objection to a plan oil and natural gas exploration by India's ONGC Videsh Ltd. at block 127 & 128 which it says has no legal basis as the blocks belongs to Vietnam...

This is worth watching.. more work for the diplomats. Hopefully India and Viet Nam stand firm. Logically this dispute would be elevated to some legal body for arbitration but somehow I get the impression China isn't too keen on this approach to problem resolution.
Didn't VN accuse China of sabotaging a survey effort in the disputed area not too long ago?

I also wonder why India isn't any more closer to the Philippines than to Vietnam. There's a huge Sikh-Hindu diaspora in the Philippines, and aside from that, a lot more Filipinos with Indian descent, which if you count may be a hundred times more than the number of Indians in Vietnam. India has been flooding the Philippines with cheaper generic medicines, which prove very helpful to most Filipinos. And a lot of youthful Indians come to the Philippines to study medicine. Hopefully, things will open up between the two countries, including defense exchanges.

I also wonder why India isn't any more closer to the Philippines than to Vietnam. There's a huge Sikh-Hindu diaspora in the Philippines, and aside from that, a lot more Filipinos with Indian descent, which if you count may be a hundred times more than the number of Indians in Vietnam. India has been flooding the Philippines with cheaper generic medicines, which prove very helpful to most Filipinos. And a lot of youthful Indians come to the Philippines to study medicine. Hopefully, things will open up between the two countries, including defense exchanges.

IMO this was a very calculated move on the part of Viet Nam to leverage Indian involvement in a commercial venture to strenghen their position relative to China in the SCS. Smart move.
Its really up to the Philippine government if it wants to pursue a similar strategy or not. There will be consequences as China will respond in any number of ways, economic, political or military Malacanang will have to weigh carefully if the rewards are worth the risks.

This is sure to cause concern in Beijing. Not just the Brahmos but the deepening partnership between the 2 couuntries, both of which have had armed conflictswith the PRC in the past.

If the claims that the Brahmos is the world's fastest cruise missile is true, then these will prove a credible threat to China's naval dominance. They could also cripple naval installations in Hainan.

Easier said than done, but Vietnam and the Philippines could come to a mutual defense agreement which would include enhanced information sharing and transparency between both forces, joint military exercises and interconnected logistics for both navies. Vietnam and the Philippines already enjoy good relations with one another.

I will not be surprised if Vietnam or the Philippines hosts foreign military bases. A JANZUS base in the Philippines or an Indian base in Vietnam would surely agitate China, but this ultimately will be both countries' political nuke, as they would not achieve stalemate through military or economic means.

If the claims that the Brahmos is the world's fastest cruise missile is true, then these will prove a credible threat to China's naval dominance. They could also cripple naval installations in Hainan.

Not true, it will not make much of a difference and will certainly not ''prove a credible threat to China's naval dominance''. China has such a clear military superiority that even hundreds of Brahmos will not make much of a difference. As for targetting Chinese territory, bear in mind that the whole of South East Asia is already well in range of a number of Chinese ballistic and cruise missiles.

The main standoff threat to Vietnamese ships would be the KH-31 supersonic cruise missile, which is also operated by Malaysia. Though it has not been reported, Vietnam will almost certainly get the Klub missiles for its Kilos.

If it came to any large scale conflict, there's really little doubt that China would prevail., it simply has an overwhelming military edge. Barring that however, a stronger defense posture by the smaller Davids on the block can still provide China reason for pause, actually bloody Goliath's nose and uphold national honor in defense of sovereignty.